Cruelly Treated

In my childhood my father told me about a horror he witnessed as a child. The story I remember is that my father saw a black kid murdered near Milstead, Georgia. The boy's offense? He was accused of stealing a watermelon from a field. 

My mother remembers the story differently. She remembers that Daddy said the kid was "treated cruelly" but I have believed since my childhood that he was murdered. Maybe Daddy censored what he told Mother, or maybe my childhood imagination exaggerated it, but that is my memory.

That story had a profound effect on me, as I think the experience had a profound effect on my Daddy. I did not know the word "lynch" at that point, but I knew the concept very early. 

In the last day or so a friend posted an antique postcard - A POSTCARD -- depicting a dozen corpses hanging by their necks from rough ropes. The card looks like a celebration of lynchings. Surely there is a special deluxe section of Hell awaiting those responsible for such atrocities AND those who chose to celebrate such depravity. I cannot bring myself to post such a hellish artifact on my blog. But...

In the 21st century the atrocities continue.

Michael Brown.
Trayvon Martin
The Bible Study group at Mother Emmanuel Church
and just this year, Ahmaud Arbery

and many more.

Racism is real. It infects everyone. Yes I said everyone, myself included. We must face up to the fact of the unfair racial attitudes that pervade our culture. I walk around mostly oblivious to the privilege I enjoy simply by virtue of skin color every minute of every day. That doesn't make me a bad person. That's human nature. We experience the world from our own point of view and must really work to understand the different realities that others face. No I'm not a bad person, but I owe it to myself and to those I love, and to the society of which I am part to recognize inequity and try to do my part to make things better.

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I wrote the above 24 hours ago. And now we have the privileged young woman videotaped in New York blatantly using a man's skin-color as a weapon against him.

Then the terror of the nation witnessing the apparent murder of an unarmed black man by a stupid policeman for a charge of non-violent crime (I have relatives who have been/are principled officers of the law). He seemed to heartlessly, without any apparent emotion, strangle the helpless, handcuffed man with his knee.

So we add the name George Floyd to the list of unarmed black persons who have died for no good reason.

When will these atrocities end?

Perhaps things will get better when we know each other and learn to recognize the humanity of those who look different, or worship differently, or speak with a different accent. Perhaps we should be INTENTIONAL about knowing each other, about learning to see from others' points of view. And maybe we should restore moral leadership to our executive branch and our senate.

I ache for my black friends tonight, who have been reminded AGAIN that some of their fellow Americans do not see them as part of the "all men" of the Declaration or part of "We the People" of the Preamble. I ache for my country so in need of inspiration and leadership.